1. Technical Field of the Invention
The present application is directed to an improvement in the field of vending machines 3 for packaged goods such as canned drinks, and is more specifically directed to a vending machine 3 for use in conjunction with a credit card accepting self service fuel dispensing gasoline pumps 1 on a pump island of a vehicle fueling facility, and method for vending in conjunction thereof.
2. Description of Related Art
In the past, vehicle fueling facilities such as gasoline stations included several fuel dispensing pumps 1 on one or more pump islands. A service attendant would pump the gasoline and the driver would make appropriate payment to complete the transaction.
Subsequently, however, many gas stations in many states across the United States for example, and in many other countries, shifted from using gas or service station attendants to pump a customer's gas, to using self service fuel dispensing pumps 1. In such a self-service vehicle fueling facility, a customer could either pre-pay a particular amount to an attendant and pump his own gasoline, or a customer could pump his own gasoline and subsequently pay a gas station attendant an appropriate amount. By utilizing self service fuel dispensing pumps 1, the owner of a vehicle fueling facility or gas station could then reduce his overhead costs since fewer employees were necessary. These costs could then be passed on to the consumer in the form of lower prices for fuel.
The food supplying and marketing industry then took notice of the fact that vehicle fueling facilities now needed only a single or a few employees, placed at a cash register, to collect customer fees for the amount of fuel dispensed at the self service fuel dispensing pumps 1. This spurred the creation of mini-markets at gasoline stations, wherein a customer who was finished pumping gas at this self service fuel dispensing pumps 1 could then enter an area not only housing an employee of the gas station to collect money for the amount of fuel dispensed, but also housing many staple products such as milk and bread for example, and further containing other more popular convenience store type items such as candy, snacks, and soft drinks. Therefore, by the advent of these mini-markets, a person could go to a vehicle fueling facility to fill up his vehicle up with fuel, and could further purchase items which might have to be purchased via a separate stop at a convenience store. The consumer therefore benefitted from this one-stop shopping.
Purchases made via the credit card then became more and more popular. With the popularity of credit cards and with the popularity of self service fuel dispensing pumps 1, came the creation of the self service fuel dispensing pump 1 which accepted and completed credit card transactions without the need for any interaction between the customer and another individual. The customer could then dispense fuel into his car from the self serve fuel dispensing pumps 1 on a pump island of a vehicle fueling facility, and could complete the transaction via the credit card without the need to bother or wait for an attendant of the vehicle fueling facility. Such self service fuel pumps 1 operable by means of a credit card operated as follows.
FIG. 1 illustrates a known vehicle fueling facility which was set up for operation via self service fuel dispensing pumps 1 on pump islands 24, with the pumps being operable by means of a credit card. The gasoline pumps 1 housed credit card readers, with the readers being "dumb" devices controlled from a central controller 20 within a building 18 of the vehicle fueling facility. The credit card transactions took place at the pump 1, and information was communicated through lines 26 to controller 20. Line 28 further illustrated a telephone line 28 connecting controller 20 to a credit card authorization center, for obtaining authorization of the credit card. An explanation of a typical credit card transaction which took place at a known self service gas pump 1 will be explained with regard to FIG. 2 of the present application.
Initially, at step 2, the customer inserted a credit card into a credit card reader at a gas pump 1 such as pump 1 as shown in FIG. 1. Appropriate information was read off the credit card and that information was transferred via lines 26 to controller 20 as shown in FIG. 1. Then, in step 4, the controller 20 sought credit card authorization from a credit card authorization center, in a manner well known to those of ordinary skill in the art.
In step 6, if appropriate authorization was not obtained, a customer message was displayed on the gas pump 1 in step 100. This message basically advised a customer that the card had not been accepted, and conveyed to the customer that the gas pump 1 was not yet operational.
If appropriate authorization had been obtained, the controller 20, in step 8, then requested a temporary credit hold on the credit card and authorized the sale. Thus, the customer was then prompted to begin pumping gas.
The customer pumped the gas in step 10, and in step 12, at the end of the sale, the controller 20 created a record and stored this record for forwarding. The controller 20, in step 14, could then subsequently send a batch of information from stored files and records (corresponding to a number of transactions batched and sent together at one time from a number of customers, for example) to the credit card company. Finally, in step 16, the customer's account would be debited and the retailer's account would be credited to thereby complete the transaction.
Accordingly, although credit card transactions at the gas pump 1 were extremely convenient for the user, the retailer and owner of the vehicle fueling facility did not obtain all possible advantages from utilizing such credit card activated self service fuel dispensing pumps 1. The retailer, for example, who had opened a type of mini-market in the gas station, wished to vend other products as well as sell gasoline. Further, vendors who sold products to the retailer wished the retailer to vend their products. With credit card transactions taking place at the gas pump 1, however, there was no need for the consumer to enter any type of mini-market, since he could complete his transactions at the gasoline pump 1 itself.
Accordingly, there remains a pressing need in the industry to combine the convenience and benefit of a mini-market located at a vehicle fueling facility with the convenience and benefits of self service fuel dispensing pumps 1 operable by means of a credit card.